Feb. 15, 2000 SportsLine wire reports

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Suspended Michigan basketball player Jamal Crawford received money to promote an academic foundation run by a Seattle businessman, the Detroit Free Press reported Tuesday.

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The unsigned agreement -- dated July 13, 1998, and obtained by the newspaper -- bears the name of Crawford and Barry Henthorn, the businessman who established the Academic Assistance Foundation.

The NCAA is investigating Henthorn's relationship with Crawford, who had starred at Seattle's Rainier Beach High School.

The NCAA suspended Crawford, a 6-foot-6 freshman guard and Michigan's leading scorer, for six games for violating its rules concerning amateurism, based on his relationship with Henthorn.

With his mother's permission, Crawford lived with Henthorn for three years while in high school, the NCAA said. Crawford is practicing with the team and attending classes but cannot play until Feb. 24, when the Wolverines (12-9, 3-7 Big Ten) play Purdue.

Henthorn has played down the significance of the foundation, which lists its address as the same building as Henthorn's Seattle corporate offices for Innovative Communications Technologies, a long-distance telephone company.

Henthorn said he never has tried to benefit from his relationship with Crawford and that he has not attempted to act as his agent. Henthorn said that as Crawford's non-legal guardian, he provided cash, clothing, cars, tutorial help, and room and board to Crawford during high school.

The NCAA has ordered Crawford to repay Henthorn about $15,000 for the benefits before completing his college eligibility. Henthorn has said he doesn't want to be repaid, doesn't know how the NCAA expects Crawford to come up with the money, and that any reimbursement would go to charity.